Living Room & Dining Room: Before

Prior to moving into the house, we wisely employed a company to remove the "popcorn" texture from the cove ceilings in the living room and dining room. The removal process is relatively easy--you spray the texture with water and then it scrapes right off. Since we weren't certain what we were dealing with, we sent a sample of the texture to a lab that confirmed it contained asbestos. As such, we felt it prudent to hire professionals who could also dispose of the waste appropriately. As with many changes this house incurred over the years, we were left wondering, "Why...WHY would you put a texture on beautiful cove ceilings?" Once the job was done, our question was answered.

Cracked ceiling.

The ceiling was badly cracked! There was a grid of cracks running both east/west and north south. Texturing the ceiling was probably someone's easy solution to a much bigger problem. For us, the repair of the ceiling would have to wait its turn. Upgrading the electrical would come before the ceiling since it would likely cause some damage to the plaster. In the above photo, you'll see that we had recessed lighting installed. I was afraid that the recessed lights would detract from the authenticity of the renovation, but I actually love them. Lighting can transform a space and in dark fall and winter days, it warms the room.

Icky trim.	Water damaged window sill.

During prior paintings, the living room and dining room trim had not been protected and was splattered with specks of paint. Additionally, since the house had been vacant for a few years prior to our ownership, the windows on the south side of the house began to rot and warp, causing the sills to sustain water damage. How would we fix this? Mahogany changes color as it ages and it wouldn't be possible to just slap on some new wood and have it match. Some of the grooves in the wood were deep and I was concerned that it couldn't be saved.

To be continued...